teams and individuals from all sites across botany, new south wales, and altona, victoria, shared their she experience with local government officials, regulators, community members, contractor representatives and qenos colleagues in australia.
“this is my favorite time of the year at qenos. we get to recognize the outstanding efforts of individuals and work groups. apart from the business benefits, which flow from such she improvements, our employees are taking more initiative in carrying out their she responsibilities," said qenos ceo jonathan clancy.
the alkatuff team won the safety & health award on the strength of their deactivation of the product purge bin using their carbon dioxide project. some of the major benefits of the project included reducing risks associated with filter changes and potential fire, and cutting back on work at high altitudes, manual handling, dust exposure and the use of poorly designed lifting equipment.
from left to right: rodney smith, matt thistlethwaite, hugh veersema, jonathan clancy, jon joseph and colin sims
the environment & sustainability award went to the utilities team for their project on changes to the boiler flue gas filter bag and cage design. the changes have helped to eliminate risk of unplanned trips of the olefines plant and associated flaring, ease the stress on the boilers caused by continual shutting down and starting up, and address corrosion problems to the economiser ends and the associated costs. the team also redesigned the cages and cage coatings, improved quality control in bag manufacturing with the supplier, and detailed specifications to ensure consistent future bag manufacturing.
from left to right: matt thistlethwaite, peter ghisla, jonathan clancy and val tialshinsky
at the altona facility, the combined shifts, mechanical, i&e and day support from olefins were announced as winners for their safe production days at olefins plant. greg archer, head of the shift team, provided an overview of the various promotions each olefins team used to support their safety campaign, which included safety competitions, crosswords, safe work and a focus on safety during the holidays. a rather powerful exhibition was also featured in the main control room entrance, depicting the number and nature of injuries the workforce had experienced and the dos and don’ts needed to prevent further injuries.
each work group delivered their safety message: "what are you doing today to ensure you and your workmates are safe?"
members of the winning team at the olefin plant received the 2013 altona she excellence trophy from sandra wilson, mayor and member of the hobsons bay city council.
during each ceremony, a special presentation was held to recognize the dedicated work of various she committees throughout qenos.
qenos is australia’s biggest ethylene producer and the country’s only polyethylene producer. it was acquired by chemchina in 2006 and became a subsidiary of bluestar.